LANSING, MI – Today, the Michigan labor movement announced the filing of an amicus brief in support of the Senate’s lawsuit against House Speaker Matt Hall, urging the courts to intervene and force the immediate presentation of long-delayed, pro-worker legislation to Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The Michigan labor movement is joining the legal fight on behalf of Michigan’s working families, public employees, and law enforcement officers whose wages, healthcare, and retirement security are at stake. The list of groups joining the amicus brief includes AFSCME Michigan, AFT Michigan, MEA, MNA, UAW, and SEIU Michigan.
“Speaker Matt Hall’s refusal to send these bills to the governor isn’t just a political stunt, it’s a violation of the Michigan Constitution and a direct attack on working people,” said Ron BIEBER, President of the Michigan AFL-CIO. “These bills would lower healthcare costs for public employees, secure retirement for public safety professionals, and stop predatory debt collectors from seizing unemployment, tax credits, and other assistance families need just to survive. Speaker Matt Hall is unconstitutionally blocking the bills to serve his own interests at the expense of Michigan families. That’s why many of our affiliates are taking this fight to court: because workers deserve justice, and they deserve it now.”
The lawsuit, filed by Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks, seeks to compel Speaker Hall to present House Bills 4177, 4665–4667, 4900–4901, 5817–5818, and 6058, which passed both chambers and Speaker Hall has refused to transmit to the Governor in clear violation of the Michigan Constitution. The legislation includes crucial protections for workers, including healthcare affordability, pension security, and debt collection reforms.
“These bills are life-changing for our members,” said Gino CARBENIA, Executive Director of AFSCME Michigan. “Public employees, whether they work in corrections, sanitation, transportation, or public health, deserve affordable healthcare coverage and secure retirements just like any other worker. Speaker Matt Hall’s refusal to send these bills to the governor is unacceptable, and we won’t stand by while Michigan’s workers are ignored.”
These bills provide essential protections for hundreds of thousands of workers’ wages, pensions, and legal rights – impacting nearly one million Michiganders. Every day of delay means real harm to Michigan families.
“Corrections officers are vital to keep our communities safe. Despite that essential work, we’ve watched our pay and benefits be slowly chipped away. Officers are leaving our profession in droves, while our prisons have critically low staffing shortages,” said Ray SHOLTZ, Executive Director of the Michigan Corrections Organization. “Our pension reform bills were a light at the end of the tunnel for the thousands of officers who have endured grueling overtime and watched their work-life balance disappear to keep our prisons operational. Politicians must stop playing political games with our officers’ lives and deliver our bills to the Governor. Enough is enough.”
The legislation also includes key healthcare protections for educators, ensuring that faculty, school staff, and higher education professionals receive affordable and reliable health insurance coverage.
“The educators and school staff we represent are drowning under rising healthcare costs and shrinking coverage, and this legislation would provide real relief,” said Terrence MARTIN, President of AFT Michigan. “It is outrageous that Speaker Hall is unconstitutionally delaying it. The people of Michigan deserve a government that works for them, not against them. We are proud to stand with Senator Brinks and the Michigan AFL-CIO in demanding that these bills be sent to Governor Whitmer immediately.”
The Michigan AFL-CIO and its affiliated unions represent over a million active and retired working people across the state and have committed to continuing legal action to hold Speaker Hall accountable.
“Workers cannot afford these delays, and we will not allow a handful of politicians to sabotage their future,” BIEBER added. “If Speaker Hall won’t follow the law, we will make sure the courts force him to.”
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